Written By: Jordan Francis

All it takes to launch a new micro or macro—trend is some fresh paparazzi pics of Bella Hadid or A$AP Rocky. Online publications, fashion journalists, and influencers coin the aesthetic, and a new look is propelled into the zeitgeist. Great clothes can make your back straighter, your walk swaggier, and your spirit a little lighter. Dancing into spring, recent runaways presented bountiful options from the subversive edge tailoring at Ernest W. Baker and Thom Browne to the post-apocalyptic black uniform at Yohji Yamamoto and Junya Watanabe to sporty looks at ERL and Sacai. And then there is Collina Strada designing a bag made of broccoli or Balenciaga Lay’s chips leather bag offering. In that sense, the ethos of Spring/Summer 23 is to cultivate your style. Dress bravely and with intention.

Balletcore

Balletcore’s romantic influence on fashion isn’t over yet. The trend that epitomizes femininity and classical refinement has entered the realm of menswear. Brands like Sandy Liang, Mimi Wade, Aaron Esh, Dion Lee, and Peter Do have embraced dedicated layers, skintight silhouettes, corporeal cutouts, and graceful tailoring with nods to womenswear. Designed for an experimentalist, this approach favors neutral shades and earth tones and classic fabrics like cashmere, merino wool, and silk. Combining sensuality with Victorian romanticism to offer timeless pieces in subtle designs and hushed palettes. Evoke Natalie Portman’s look in “Black Swan.” The film’s costumes were designed by Rodarte after all. Balletcore encapsulates fashion’s appetite for elegance and daintiness of rehearsal dressing that prioritizes comfort and practicality. We could all do with a bit of that. Now, from the top. 5, 6, 7, 8…

Courtesy of Vogue Runway: Sandy Liang FW23

The Salesman

Brands like Our Legacy, Dries Van Noten, Ernest W. Baker, Ottolinger, and Khaite are transforming women’s tailoring and traditional office looks into mod two-piece ensembles that you’ll want to wear well outside the office. Drawing influences from menswear, prep, and quiet luxury, the skirt-suit formula gets a remodel with high hemlines, shirts, and midriff-bearing low-rise skirts. Miu Miu’s SS22 debuted pleated miniskirts with an assortment of cropped sweaters, blazers, and tops to create an accentuated, elongated torso. Sexier, rebellious tailoring unravels under punk influences and pastels trade off with neutrals and bold hues.

Mermaidcore

This summer, aquatic styles rule. JW Anderson gave us the optical illusion of off-the-shoulder dresses filled with water and goldfish when he showed the label’s SS23 collection in London. Crafty by-the-sea techniques like crochet, weaving, and upcycling are here to stay, as indicated by the doily tops at the Row, super-soaked sheer garments at Bali’s very own Isa Boulder, and spiked fabric reminiscent of durian fruit from Chet Lo. Chet Lo’s garments are offered in electrified color palettes that add a futuristic and playful spin on ready-to-wear. In the heart of New York City, brands like Judy Turner and Maryam Nassir Zadeh are championing a sun-bleached, ten toes in the sand energy with endearingly disheveled designs. Take a quick sartorial beachcombing session and you’ll find fractured seashell-inspired geometric patterns and other logarithmic shapes scattered across collections from brands like Chopova Lowena, Bottega Veneta, Kiko Kostadinov, and Connor Ives.

On Bridle Path

Is it feeling crisp and clean? The thrill of a potential spill? The appeal of dressing up in white is difficult to understand. Connoting beginnings and celebrations, it feels reserved for special occasions. But if white is for ceremony and standing out, why are designers— Jacquemus, The Row, AREA, to Simone Rocha— churning out matrimonious looks for SS23? It’s a notion of chastity— if not a refrain from intercourse, an aversion to blending in or being run-of-the mill. But also, an aversion to being a bride. As marriage rate decline, singles celebrate autonomy, celibacy, and dressing in white for other reasons. Marriage might not be for all of us, but our closets in SS23 are on bridle path.

Courtesy of Vogue Runway: Simone Rocha SS23

Punkier than Ever (Indie Sleaze, Grunge, 90s, Y2K)

The past two seasons of fashion have been dominated by the return of the smiley-faced, high-hemlined, and tie-dye nostalgia of the Y2K era. A laissez-faire energy that brands like Marni, Dries Van Noten, Mowalola, and STORY mfg. have all tapped into. Hysteric Glamour is coveted by Bella Hadid, Lil Uzi Vert, and their contemporaries because of the brand’s playful Americana-inspired designs. The nonchalance, teenage rebelliousness, and counterculture ethos of the brand are apt antidotes to these anxiety-heavy times. Furthermore, Glenn Martens’ design language at Y/Project and Diesel encapsulates the Y2K spectrum with an emphasis on construction at the helm of the design process. Also, brands like Blumarine and Heaven by Marc Jacobs channel this energy to release body-hugging garments and flippant, kitschy details like ruffles, bows, and rhinestones.

Heavenly Bodies

Androgynous and genderless fashion illuminates the interaction between clothing and the body. Exploring the notion of space as a shared and construed venue. Think all things Dion Lee, whose silhouettes reduce to these essential tenets: miniskirts, corsets, and harnesses accentuate the wearer’s body, complemented with exaggerated shirting and opulent silk robes serving to conceal, kind of. Several seasons ago, skirts on the men’s runways were a novelty meant to prompt conservations about gender. Now, they are the norm, with Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Dior Men, Ann Demeulemeester, Hed Mayner, Rick Owens, Eckhaus Latta, Bianca Saunders, and more showing midis and maxis for men.

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